Cause & Effect: Episode 1.3

The third episode of the VTES webshow Cause and Effect has been broadcasted live on this Sunday (October 30th, 2011). This time the members of the Cause and Effect team discuss Lutz von Hohenzollern and decks based on him as well different aspects of Auspex-based bleed bounce cards.

Memorable Quotes (Part 2^7)

"One man's crazy is another man's card text". -- LSJ

Reference: VtES Usenet Newsgroup

Did you know, that ... (Part 77)

.. if you control only one ready vampire, you cannot use the effect of Gurchon Hall at all? The card text of Gurchon Hall explicitly states, that you "may move 1 blood from the blood bank to each of the two oldest ready vampires you control", but since you only control one ready vampire you do not have the required two eligible targets for Gurchon Hall's effect.

Reference: VtES Usenet Newsgroup.

Gelsenkirchen VtES League 2011: October 26th

This time here's just the overview what happened during the weekly Gelsenkirchen VtES League meeting on October 26th, 2011.

• Thomas -- Obt/Cel Anarch Rush Gun Combat -- 0.5 VP
• Zille -- EuroBrujah Pot Combat -- 0.5 VP
• Martin V. -- Ishtarri Wallish/Combatish -- 0.5 VP
• Ralf -- Mata Hari Summon History Ally -- 0.5 VP
• Martin E. -- Neo-Brujah Vote -- 0.5 VP

Overall the table had not enough forward motion (in terms of pool damage), so eventually the table timed out.

Cause & Effect: Episode 1.2

The second episode of the VTES webshow Cause and Effect has been broadcasted live on this Tuesday (October 25th, 2011). This time the members of the Cause and Effect team discussed ally decks at length.

VampiDroid Smartphone App

There's a neat little smartphone app out there for Vampire: the Eternal Struggle for quite some time now. It's called VampiDroid and it's a card reference and search utility for VtES cards, which is quite handy for looking for the latest card texts during tournaments or other competitive games. VampiDroid is an Android app and available for at least 6 months in the Android Marketplace. You can find more information on the developer's blog.

Wakey, wakey, ..

Currently in the Tournament Winnig Deck Archive:

• 17 Wakes -- the original by EC 2010 Winner, Brian Moritz
• 15 Wakes -- Slovak version #1 by Tomas Varga
• 16 Wakes -- Slovak version #2 by Martin Varga, his brother

So the question remains, when will 18 Wakes and 14 Wakes hit the TWDA?

"Cause and Effect" VtES Webcast

Last week saw the first full episode of the new (the first?) regular VtES webcast "Cause and Effect". The show is about VtES (of course) and produced by members of the Örebro (Sweden) playgroup. In the first episode the three Swedish players discuss (literally) one of the tournament winning deck classic, the Ventrue antitribu Grinder deck (also known as "Stick Men" by a certain Englishman who made the deck successful & popular). And they're doing it in great detail, discussing the crypt, the different parts of the deck as well as strengths and weaknesses of the deck.
If you're interested in VtES, you should really take a look! Especially because when listening to the discussion, it becomes quite apparent that these players know what they're talking about. Even though you may not agree with all that is being said, the discussion is quite insightful.

Beside the Cause and Effect channel on YouTube, you can also contact the guys on Facebook or on VEKN.net. The next episode the webcast is scheduled for tonight, so stayed tuned ...

Memorable Quotes (Part 127)

"You need to win the finals to win!" -- Isak (Swedish VtES player)

Villains and Vigilantes Card Game

This post is strictly speaking totally unrelated to VtES, but since one of the authors, Ben Swainbank, has spent a significant portion of his spare time for promoting VtES (for example as former Storyline Event Coordinator), I'd give the game a little promotional:

After VTES production stopped and my Storyline Coordinator duties ended I started up my own gaming company: Superhuman Games. We are focusing on a living-card-game style superhero game, the Villains and Vigilantes Card Game.

We are lining things up to start our first print run. But first we’re trying expand the circle of people playing the game and providing feedback. We’ve started up a V&V R&D product series where the decks are available from a print-on-demand service.

Currently, there are 3 sets available:

• Crusher Crimewave
• Mind Over Matter
• Day of Reckoning

And more information about the game is available on our website: Super Human Games.

The design for the V&V CG was heavily influenced by my long love affair with VTES. There is the concept of characters having powers, and the different cards in the game represent the way those powers can be used. The characters themselves are not intrinsically awesome. But they can play cards that let them do awesome things. There is also very rapid card flow that lends itself to building exciting chains of card plays. And I loved the narrative aspect of the VTES: the idea that an exciting story can be told through a strategy card game.

Beyond that the V&V CG is quits different from VTES. It is more narrative, less abstract, less complex, and more fluid. The action takes place on a grid of locations. The game doesn’t have tapping or all sorts of phases. If you want to move a hero you play a power card that lets the hero move. If you want to punch a villain you play the power card that does that. etc...

I know so well that VTES players are and intelligent and charming bunch. And you have such excellent taste in games. I wanted to let you know about the Villains and Vigilantes Card Game and hope you'll check it out. If you have any feedback I would love to hear it. If you have any questions, I would be happy to answer them.

-- Ben Swainbank

You can leave your questions and comments to the game on VEKN.net.

EC 2011 Website Updates

Currently the official VtES EC 2011 Website is updated more frequently and you should definitely take a look yourself. I want to draw your attention to a series of posts there by The Dude, who has written some pretty interesting stuff about staying in Warsaw during the EC:

• The Dude's Guide, Part I -- General Information
• The Dude's Guide, Part II -- Things to see in Warsaw
• The Dude's Guide, Part III -- Recommended Walks

And as of today, there are 116 players from 20 countries pre-registered for the event!

CCP slowing down World of Darkness Development

On a somewhat related note .. last week CCP Games (owner of the White Wolf imprint since November 2006) announced ("CCP Focuses on the EVE Universe - A CCP Announcement") that it is concentrating on the support of EVE and the development of the upcoming Dust 514 computer game. This is reaction to the problems with subscriber numbers of EVE, after alienating a significant portion of EVE players ("A Letter to the Followers of EVE"). Effectively this means, that the company is slowing down the development of the World of Darkness MMO RPG, which was one of the main reasons of the White Wolf acquisition by CCP back in 2006.

Results "If I was your vampire" VtES Tournament in Bochum

Here are the results of the "If I was your vampire" VtES Constructed tournament in Bochum, Germany which was played on October 22nd, 2011 with 16 players attending. The tournament was taking place during the Spiel 2011 Game Fair in Essen nearby. The final standings after two rounds and the final were as follows:

1. Martin V. -- 2 GW 6 VP -- 1.5 VP -- Akunanse Toolbox
2. Martin E. -- 1 GW 5 VP -- 1 VP -- Malkavian/!Malkavian Kindred Spirits S&B
2. Michael H. -- 1 GW 5 VP -- 0.5 VP -- Followers of Set Vote/Bleed
2. Michael B. -- 1 GW 3 VP -- 0.5 VP -- Imbued
2. Gerhard R. -- 1 GW 3 VP -- 0 VP -- Baali G5/6 Vote

Congratulations to Martin (the Martin from Slovakia) for his victory in the tournament. You can find the final standings in the German VEKN forum.

Results Serbian EC Qualifier 2011

On October 8th, 2011 the Serbian VtES ECQ 2011 was held in Belgrade , Serbia with 18 players attending the final tournament. The final standings after 3 rounds and the final were as follows:

1. Gyula Erdos (HUN) -- Imbued
2. Milos Krstic (SER) -- Anson Guns'n'Ashurs Rush
2. Stevan Krkelic (SER) -- Tremere/Tremere antitribu w/ Fortitude Toolbox/Wall
2. Peter Botos (HUN) -- True Brujah Powerbleed feat. Lydia and Al Muntahtir
2. Csaba Greguss (HUN) -- New Ventrue Lawfirm

Congratulations to Gyula for his win of the Serbian ECQ 2011. You can find a short tournament report as well as the tournament winning deck on VEKN.net.

VtES European Championship Qualifiers 2011 (Update)

Here's a list of the upcoming continental championship qualifier events for VtES taking place in Europe in 2011:

• .. no more EC Qualifiers scheduled. Let's go play VtES in Warsaw!
  

... and the list of past ECQs 2011:

• Swedish Qualifier -- Gothenberg, Sweden -- April 23rd, 2011 -- Winner: Erik Torstensen (SWE)
• Spanish Qualifier (I) -- Córdoba, Spain -- April 23rd, 2011 -- Winner: ???
• German Qualifier -- Darmstadt, Germany -- April 30th, 2011 -- Winner: Manuel Diehm (GER)
• Hungarian Qualifier -- Budapest, Hungary -- May 7th, 2011 -- Winner: Szilveszter Miklos (HUN)
• Norwegian Qualifier -- Oslo, Norway --- May 7th, 2011 -- Winner: Hugh Angseesing (UK)
• English Qualifier -- Burton-on-Trent, England -- May 14th, 2011 -- Winner: Norbert Flasko (HUN)
  
• Belorussian Qualifier -- Minsk, Belorussia -- May 14th, 2011 -- Winner: Alexander Loginov
  
• Danish Qualifier -- Copenhagen, Denmark -- May 15th, 2011 -- Winner: Nikolaj Wendt (DEN)
• Dutch Qualifier -- Utrecht, Netherlands -- May 21st, 2011 -- Winner: Paul Wiggers (NED)
• Portuguese Qualifier -- Lisbon, Portugal -- May 21st, 2011 -- Winner: Igor Pereira (POR)
• French Qualifier (I) -- Paris, France -- May 28th, 2011 -- Winner: Timothée Daudé (FRA)
• Belgian Qualifier -- Brussels, Belgium -- June 4th, 2011 -- Winner: Jelmer Wedholm (NED)
• Italian Qualifier -- Bologna, Italy -- June 19th, 2011 -- Winner: Alessandro Donati (ITA)
• Croatian Qualifier -- Osijek, Crotia -- June 25th, 2011 -- Winner: Denes Kocis (CRO)
• Polish Qualifier -- Bydgoszcz, Poland -- June 25th, 2011 -- Winner: Pawel Kosz (POL)
• French Qualifier (II) -- Toulouse, France -- June 26th, 2011 -- Winner: Jérôme Schwartz (FRA)
• Spanish Qualifier (II) -- Badía del Vallés (Barcelona) -- July 17th, 2011 -- Winner: Genís Prats (ESP)
• Finnish Qualifier -- Espoo, Finland-- July 29th, 2011 -- Winner: Otso Saariluoma (FIN)
• Russian Qualifier -- Moscow, Russia -- September 3rd, 2011 -- Winner: Konstantin Prischepa (RUS)
• Austrian Qualifier -- Vienna, Austria -- September 25th, 2011 -- Winner: ???
• Serbian Qualifier -- Belgrade, Serbia -- October 8th, 2011 -- Winner: Guyla Erdos (HUN)
  

All this culminating in the European VtES Championship 2011:

• 2011 European Championship -- Warsaw, Poland -- November 11th - 13th, 2011

Announcement German National VtES Championship 2011

This year the German National VtES Championship tournament will take place in Bad Nauheim, Germany on December 11th, 2011. Veni, Vidi, Vici should be your motto! Take your chances and dethrone the Italian usurper, who claimed the title last time.

The Tournament

• Sunday, December 11th, 2011 will be devoted to the German VtES Championship -- please note that you will not have to qualify for this event. The top 5 players will automatically be qualified for participation in any Continental Championship in 2012.

Location

• Jugendhaus "Alte Feuerwache"
  Johannisstrasse 5
  61231 Bad Nauheim

Format

• German Championship: Standard Constructed, detailed rules can be found on the VEKN Tournament Rules webpage.

Time-Table

• Sunday -- German VtES Championship 2011
  
• 1st Round -- 11:00 - 13:00
• 2nd Round -- 13:45 - 15:45
• 3rd Round -- 16:00 - 18:00
• Finals -- 18:15 - 20:15

Costs

• 3 EUR admission fee

Prizes

• tba

Notes

• After each round the participants vote for the most creative deck at their table. The deck with the most votes win (counted after the preliminary rounds).

More Details and Registration

• Please register in the thread in the German VtES Forum or VEKN.net.

VtES Calendar 2012

From the upcoming VtES calendar for the year 2012. A limited edition can be bought on the Great Auction during the VtES European Championship 2011. You can also take a look at the trophies the winner of the EC tournaments will take home on the official EC website.

Results Asian Continental VtES Championship 2011

The Asian Continental VtES Championship 2011 has been played on October 9th, 2011 in Quezon City, Philippines with 25 players from three countries attending the tournament. The standings after 3 rounds and the final were as follows:

1. Stephen Sing (SGP) -- 3 GW 11 VP -- 3 VP -- Ahrimanes Howler Toolbox
2. Karl Cheng Chua (PHL) -- 1 GW 4.5 VP -- 2 VP -- True Brujah Toolbox
2. Gee Hwan (SGP) -- 2 GW 10 VP -- 2 VP -- Weenie Obf/Dom Stealth & Bleed
2. Troy Espiritu (PHL) -- 2 GW 8.5 VP -- 0 VP -- Ravnos Bleed & Sensory Deprivation
2. Frederick Tomas (PHL) -- 1 GW 5 VP -- Cock Robin Wall

Congratulations to Stephen for his win of the Asian Continental Championship 2011. This is the second time Stephen won this championship. You can find an extensive tournament and the tournament winning deck on VEKN.net.

Results VtES Tournament "Games of Instinct" in Bonn, Germany

Here are the results of the VtES constructed tournament "Games of Instinct" in Bonn, Germany after 3 rounds and final. The tournament was played on April 9th, 2011 with 18 players participating. Here are the standings after the final round:

1. Martin S. -- 2 GW 6.5 VP -- 3 VP - Tzimisce BigCap Control
2. Frederick E. -- 2 GW 7 VP -- 2 VP -- Tzimisce Midcap ToolBox
2. Joerg A. -- 2 GW 7 VP -- 0 VP - Nosferati Royalty
2. Sebastian R. -- 2 GW 6.5 VP -- 0 VP -- Nana Buruku w/ ANI support
2. Ed Trollope -- 1 GW 6 VP 0 VP -- Anarch Ravnos Swarm Bleed

Congratulations to Martin for his victory in the tournament! You can find the tournament winning deck and a tournament report in the VEKn.net

Results Australian Continental VtES Championship 2011

The Australian Continental VtES Championship 2011 has been played on October 2nd, 2011 in Adelaide, Australia with 18 players attending the tournament. The standings after 3 rounds and the final were as follows:

1. Jason Ryan (AUS) -- 2 GW 9.5 VP -- 1.5 VP -- Dirty Imbued
2. Simon Reed (NZL) -- 2 GW 7 VP -- 1.5 VP -- Assamite BH Stealth & Bleed
2. Nick Miller (AUS) -- 1 GW 4.5 VP -- 0.5 VP -- Brujah Vote
2. Tim Smith (AUS) -- 2 GW 6.5 VP -- 0 VP -- Lasombra Bruise Bleed
2. Ivor Blockley (AUS) -- 1 GW 4 VP -- 0 VP -- Lutz Inner Circle Vote

Congratulations to Jason for his win of the Australian Continental Championship 2011, the third in his VtES career. You can find a tournament report and the tournament winning deck in the VEKN.net.

Results "Aire of Elation" VtES Tournament in Darmstadt, Germany

Here are the results of "Aire of Elation" VtES Constructed tournament in Darmstadt, Germany after 2 rounds and the final. The tournament was played on October 8th, 2011 with 16 players participating. Here are the standings after 2 rounds and the final round:

1. Erol H. -- -- 1 GW 3.5 GW -- 3 VP -- Nana Buruki Pot/Ani Rush/Bleed
2. Ben H. -- 1 GW 5 VP -- 1 VP -- Tremere Bleed
2. Michael H. -- 1 GW 4 VP -- 1 VP -- Kiasyd Stealth Bleed
2. Joscha D. -- 1 GW 3.5 VP -- 0 VP -- Summon History Toolbox?
2. Ali A. -- 1 GW 3 VP -- 0 VP -- Ventrue antitribu Grinder

Congratulations to Erol for his victory in the tournament. You find the final standings, the tournament winning deck and a tournament report (in German) in the German VtES forum.

Deck of the Month: September 2011: Assamite Dementia

This month's deck is the tournament winning deck "Assamite Dementia" played by Simone Longobardi. Although it was "only" a ten-player-tournament he won, I quite like the fusion of the strengths of an Assamite bleed with the advantages of the Malkavian antitribu/Dementation (i.e. Kindred Spirits, Touch of Clarity), and Sybil's Tongue. Beside this deck other notable decks (e.g. candidates for the Deck of the Month) were the Assamite Bleed & Bloat deck by Jay Kristoff and the Una-style Gerald Windham Freakshow deck by Stewart MacLeod.

Deck Name: Mountain Top: Assamite Dementia
Author: Simone Longobardi (Pandemic)
Description:
Mountain Top
Bolzano, Italy
August 28, 2011
10 players
2R + F

Crypt (Capacity min=3 max=10 avg=7.5; 12 cards)
==================================================
1x Jackie 3 DEM !Malkavian:4
4x Luc 5 dem vic OBF !Malkavian:4
2x Nizzam al-Latif 9 dem ANI CEL OBF QUI Assamite:5
1x Santaleous 9 AUS CEL DEM OBF Malkavian:5
4x Thucimia 10 for pro CEL DEM OBF QUI Assamite:4

Library (90 cards)
=====================
Master (16 cards)
1x Alamut
2x Blind Spot
2x Dementation
1x Fortitude
2x Perfectionist
1x Secret Passage
1x Secure Haven
3x Vessel
2x Wider View
1x Yoruba Shrine

Action (28 cards)
1x Blessing of Chaos
1x Blithe Acceptance
6x Haqim's Law: Leadership
1x Khabar: Glory
12x Kindred Spirits
5x Sibyl's Tongue
2x Web of Knives Recruit

Equipment (5 cards)
1x Heart of Nizchetus
2x Helicopter
1x Sacre Cour Cathedral, France
1x Sargon Fragment, The

Ally (1 cards)
1x Mylan Horseed (Goblin)

Action Modifier (23 cards)
5x Deed the Heart's Desire
5x Elder Impersonation
1x Enkil Cog
6x Eyes of Chaos
3x Faceless Night
3x Lost in Crowds

Reaction (5 cards)
5x Wrong and Crosswise

Combo (12 cards)
2x Hide the Mind
4x Swallowed by the Night
6x Touch of Clarity

Asian VtES Continental Championships 2011

The Asian VtES Continental Championship 2011 will take place in Quezon City, Philippines on October 9th, 2011. Here are the details for this event. More can be found on the event's facebook page.

Date:

• Sunday, October 9th, 2011

Time:

• 09:00 AM to 11:00 PM

Location:

• Schizo Art Cafe

  197 Katipunan Avenue, Brgy. Milagrosa,

  Quezon City, Philippines

Format:

• Standard Constructed. Detailed rules can be found on the VEKN tournament rules webpage.

Round system:

• 3 rounds plus final (time limit: 2h each and 2.5h for the finals)

Entrance fee:

• Php800 (includes food for the whole event, giveaways and prizes)
  

Qualification Requirements:

• The Qualification requirements for the Continental Championship will be the same as those for the Australian Nationals. Which means the top 50% of players (up to a maximum of 10 players) in each constructed Championship Qualifier events qualify for the main event.

Accomodation:

• Hotels near the tournament venue:
  
  • Oracle Residences
  • Fernandina 88 Suites
  • ACL Suites
  • Regalia Suites

For more information you can contact the organizers either via the event's facebook page or the Manila VtES facebook page.

Results Swedish National VtES Championship 2011

On October 1st, 2011 the Swedish National VtES Championship 2011 was held in Örebro, Sweden with 49 players attending the tournament. The final standings after three rounds and final were as follows:

1. Otto Kukkasniemi (FIN) -- 3 GW 10 VP -- 1.5 VP -- Giovanni Shambling Hordes
2. Daniel Teige (SWE) -- 1 GW 7 VP -- 1.5 VP -- Ventrue antitribu Grinder
2. Ville Kaijasaari (FIN) -- 2 GW 9 VP -- 0.5 VP -- Guruhi Master Heavy Rush
2. Stefan Karlsson (SWE) -- 2 GW 8 VP -- 0 VP -- Council of Doom
2. Henrik Klippström (SWE) -- 2 GW 7.5 VP -- 0 VP -- Ventrue Grinder w/ votes

Congratulations to Otto for his win of the Swedish Nationals 2011. You can find the final standings, the top five decks and a transscript of the finals on VEKN.net as well as a tournament report on the Lord of the Clog blog.